Olympiakos completes the double beating AEK in Cup final
Olympiakos completed the domestic double for the 2019-20 season beating AEK 1-0 in the twice postponed Greek Cup final at Volos on Saturday. This was Olympiakos' 18th double.
The Reds outplayed AEK over the 90 minutes at the Panthessaliko Stadium and would have added to their tally on the night had they been more cautious in their final effort.
Olympiakos did not wait long before opening the score, as Lazar Randjelovic struck with just nine minutes on the clock. A clever flick by Mady Camara released the 23-year-old Serb with some free space in front of him and he ran with the ball to shoot diagonally and make the most of the slow reaction by AEK keeper Panayiotis Tsintotas.
AEK failed to rise to the challenge of evening things out as it was often unable to reach the Olympiakos box and even lost the battle in the midfield after some time in the game.
In the second half Olympiakos remained the better team, creating more chances than its opponent and being tighter at the back.
On the 55th minute AEK right-back Michalis Bakakis made a clumsy challenge on Giorgos Massouras as the Olympiakos striker entered the box, but Tsintotas used his left foot to save the penalty kick by Youssef El-Arabi two minutes later.
Olympiakos could have scored its second in the last 10 minutes but it just was not El-Arabi's night.
The Reds' fans will not worry about that. This was the successful conclusion of a season in which the club returned to the throne of Greek soccer, winning both the league and the cup, as well as reaching the last 16 of the Europa League.
As for AEK, this was its fourth consecutive loss in a cup final in as many years.
